Zoey 101: An Unexpected Encounter

Chapter 8

Dread seizing his throat, Chase bent down to retrieve the slip of paper Zoey had dropped. He held the sheet by one corner, trying to preserve the evidence. Not that it mattered. Zoey’s fingerprints were all over the damn thing.

He read the two sentences written there, as anger slowly coiled in his gut.

A daughter for a daughter. See you soon, Zoey.

Well. Looked like Kuyper had made his first move. The bastard clearly intended to terrify Zoey with this note. Before he killed her.

Chase’s throat tightened as he glanced at Zoey’s pale face. Her hands were still shaking, her straight white teeth worrying her lush bottom lip. His anger escalated. She’d already been through enough, damn it. Losing her parents. Facing their murderer. She didn’t deserve any more pain or fear in her life.

Before he could stop himself, he stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms.

Zoey gave a small gasp, then sank into the embrace, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Chase’s pulse quickened at the feel of that petite warm body pressed against his.

"I won’t let him hurt you," he murmured, holding her so tight he feared he’d break her in half.

The intoxicating aroma of her drifted up to his nose. Her strawberry–scented shampoo. Her sweet feminine scent, honey and flowers and pure heaven.

God, he’d missed holding her like this.

Zoey tilted her head to meet his eyes, her lips inches from his, and Chase nearly keeled over with desire. He’d never wanted a woman the way he yearned for Zoey.

"Chase…" Her soft voice trailed off, but the uncertainty in her Brown eyes was obvious. So was the longing.

With a strangled groan, he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his. Kuyper's message, now crumpled up in a ball in Chase's hand, fell to the floor again, but he barely gave it a second’s thought. As usual, when it came to Zoey, his job flew right out of his mind.

Her lips were so soft against his, so warm and sweet. And her tongue…Lord, her tongue was in his mouth, flicking against his own, sending a streak of hot pleasure.

She sighed with pleasure, one hand stroking the nape of his neck, the other running through his hair as she kissed him back with enough passion to make him forget his own name.

What the hell was he doing?

He stumbled back, his breath coming out ragged, his pulse still drumming wildly in his ears.

Zoey looked startled by his abrupt movement, and then a spark of disappointment lit her eyes. "Chase…" Yet again her voice drifted.

Chase sucked in some much–needed oxygen, waiting until his heartbeat went back to normal. Then he raked his fingers through his hair and released his breath. "Damn it," he finally muttered. "I’m sorry."

Her eyes flashed. "Why is it that you always apologize after kissing me?"

"I’ve only kissed you once before," he said gruffly.

"Yeah, and you apologized then, too."

"Because it was a mistake then." He avoided her irritated gaze. "And—"

"Let me guess," she said bitterly. "And it was a mistake now?"

"Yes."